Cabinet type knife box



Dec. 30, 1969 R, w. HAIN ET AL CABINET TYPE KNIFE Box Filed Feb. 6, 1968United States Patent O 3,486,610 CABINET TYPE KNIFE BOX Robert W. Hain,Edison, and Richard A. Warn, Sr., Milltown, NJ., assignors to WashingtonForge, Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb. 6, 1968, Ser. No.703,358 Int. Cl. B65d 85/54 U.S. Cl. 206-16 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A cabinet type knife box having a magnetic bar thereinserving as a knife holder and also utilized to retain the door or coverin closed position by the use of an extension on the cover knob. Thedoor or cover is encased in vinyl material which has an appearancesimilar to leather with the vinyl material being padded with one edgethereof including an extension creased to form a self-hinge with theextension of the Vinyl being secured to the box to hingedly connect thedoor or cover thereto. The knife box may be employed as a hanging wallrack to simulate a cabinet or supported on a horizontal surface Within adrawer or the like.

The present invention generally relates to a box container for knives inthe form of a cabinet-like structure having a magnetic bar extendingacross a supporting surface. The magnetic bar serves to support aplurality f knives in generally parallel position with the handles ofthe knives being received in recesses within the inner wall or bottom ofthe box. The door, lid or cover is hinged along one edge of the box andan extension on the inner surface of the door or cover is associatedwith the magnet bar to releasably retain the door or cover in closedposition by magnetic attraction. The door or cover is a rigid panelencased in leather-like vinyl material having a padding under the outerlayer thereof to provide a cushioned exterior surface for the lid ordoor to not only provide an attractive appearance to the box but also toprovide a feel of quality due to the padding of the vinyl material. Oneedge of the vinyl material is creased and provided With an extensionwhich extends along the inner surface of the box and is attached theretothus providing a self-contained hinge structure.

An object of the invention is to provide a knife box incorporating allof the previously mentioned features which is relatively simple inconstruction, relatively inexpensive but yet provided with theappearance and feel of a relatively expensive knife box which is notonly attractive in appearance but effective for holding a plurality ofknives either on a vertical wall surface or in a drawer or the like.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more =fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the knife box of the present inventionwith the door in open position illustrating one knife supported therein;

3,486,610 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 ICC FIGURE 2 is a perspective viewsimilar to FIGURE 1 but with the knife box door in closed position;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially-along a planepassing along section line 3-3 of ltIGURE 2 illustrating the structuraldetails of the knife FIGURE 4 is a transverse, sectional View takensubstantially upon a plane passing along section line 4 4 of FIGURE 2illustrating further structural details of the knife box; and

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view, on an enlarged scale, takensubstantially upon a plane passing along section line 5--5 of FIGURE 2illustrating the door knob and extension attached thereto forassociation with the magnet bar to retain the door in closed position.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generallydesignates the knife box of the present invention which is illustratedas being installed on a vertical wall surface 14 which has been providedwith conventional wood screws or other fastener devices 16 in which theheaded end thereof is spaced from the wall surface to provide supportfor the knife box 10 in a manner described hereinafter.

TheA knife box 10 is in the form of an elongated container constructionwhich includes a bottom or inner Wall 18 peripherally engaged by a topor end wall 20, a bottom or opposite end wall 22 and side walls 24 and26 which are connected to form a relatively shallow and hollow interior28. The ends of the side walls 24 and 26 are connected to the end walls20 and 22 in any suitable manner so that the joint is not readilyvisible. For example, a conventional rabbeted joint may be providedtherebetween. Also, it is noted that the bottom end wall 22 is widerthan the top end wall inasmuch as the bottom end wall will receive theweight of the knives when installed in a vertical position and alsosimulates a cabinet structure. On the rear surface of the box holder,there is provided a covering panel 30 laminated thereto by adhesive orthe like which completely covers the rear surface of the wall 18 as wellas the end walls 20 and 22 and side walls 24 and 26. The covering panel30 and the wall 18 is provided with a conventional keyhole slot 32formed centrally therein adjacent the top thereof for receiving theheaded end of the wood screw 16 to support the knife box in verticalposition on the wall surface 14 in a well-known manner. Inasmuch as thekeyhole slot 32 forms no projection on the rear surface of the knifebox, it may be supported on a flat surface or received within a draweror the like for storage.

The inner lower surface of the wall 18 is provided with a plurality oflongitudinal grooves or recesses 34 which receive the handles 36 of aplurality of knives 38 supported in the knife box. For supporting theknives 38 in place and retaining them within the knife box, a bar magnet40 is disposed transversely of the Wall 18 intermediate the ends thereofand adjacent the upper ends of the grooves or recesses 34 thusattracting the blades of the knives 38 when the handles are disposed inthe recesses 34. The bar magnet 40 is supported within a recessedchannel-shaped member 42 which is disposed in a transverse groove in thewall 18 and secured in place by suitable adhesive or other fasteningmeans. The channel-shaped member 42 is of metallic construction subjectto magnetic attraction so that the bar magnet 40 will be retained in thechannel-shaped member by magnet attraction thereto thus enabling easyassembly of the bar magnet and also removal and replacement thereof ifnecessary.

The bar magnet 40 is slightly recessed below the top edge of thechannel-shaped member 42 so that the knife blade 38 rests against theupper edges of the channelshaped member 42 rather than the bar magnet 40thus eifectively retaining the knives 38 in position within the knifebox but yet enabling them to be removed therefrom by grasping the handle36. To facilitate grasping of the handles 36 of the knives 38, atransversely extending recess or groove 44 is provided in the wall 18 inintersecting relation to the longitudinal recesses of grooves 34. Thegroove 44 enables the thumb and forefinger to be inserted under thehandle 36 or at least around the curved inner edges of the handle tofacilitate grasping thereof so that the knives may be removed bygrasping the handles rather than the blades having sharpened edgesthereon thereby eliminating any possible danger of the fingers being cutwhen removing the knife by the blade. The transverse groove 44 alsofacilitates placement of the knives 38 into the knife box by bringingthe butt end of the knife handle 36 against the inner surface of thebottom end wall 22 and then pivoting the knife inwardly until it isretained in position by the bar magnet 40.

A closure door or lid generally designated by numeral 46 is provided forthe shallow hollow area 28 and includes a relatively thin rigid panel 48covered by an inner layer of vinyl material 50 and an outer layer ofvinyl material 52 having the edges thereof secured together by heatsealing as at 54. The outer layer 52 is slightly larger than the innerlayer or panel 50 and is spaced from the rigid panel 48 by a layer ofresilient cushioning material 56 Stich as foam plastic or the like toprovide a soft cushioned exterior feel to the door or lid 46 and at thesame time providing down curved and rounded peripheral edges for the lidor door 46 to enhance the appearance characteristics thereof. Thesurface of the vinyl covering material may be textured and colored insuch a manner to have a leather-like appearance thereby enhancing theappearance characteristics of the knife box. Suitable indicia may beplaced on the exterior surface of the door or lid 46 such as the name ofthe knives within the container, a trademark or the like.

A knob 58 is provided for one side edge of Athe door 46 and isdecorative in appearance and provided with a concave peripheral wall.The knob 58 is secured in position by an elongated screw-threadedfastener 60 which extends through the door 46 and is provided with aheaded end 62 spaced from the inner surface of the door 46 by a spacersleeve 64. The combined length of the spacer sleeve 64 and the head 62on the screw 60 is such that they form an extension substantially equalto the depth of the area 28. The knob and screw 60 is so positioned thatthe head 62 Will be engaged by and attracted by the bar magnet 40 whenthe door 46 is in closed position substantially parallel to the wall 18thereby releasably retaining the door 46 in its closed position byVirtue of the extension formed by the screw 60, screwhead 62 and sleeve64.

For hingedly supporting the opposite edge of the door 46 to the box, theinner and outer panels 50 and 52, respectively, are extended to form anextension 66 with the extension including a crease 68 generally in thearea of the heat seal thereof to dene a hinge axis for the door 46. Theextension 66 is disposed along the inner surface of the wall 26 andsecured thereto by a plurality of fasteners 76 such as staples or thelike. To define the hinge axis at the crease 68, the extension 66 mayalso be reinforced to rigidify the same so that a substantially fixedhinged axis is provided for the door 46 to enable swinging movementthereof. Even when the door is swung to the fully opened position, thecushioned outer surface thereof will engage the outer surface of theside wall 26 to provide a cushion and stop for the outward swingingmovement of the door 46. The peripheral heat seal 54 may be so arrangedthat it will engage the inner periphery of the area 28 just prior to theheaded end 62 of the screw 60 engaging the magnet 40 to cushion theclosing movement of the door 46.

With this construction, the hinge for the door is completely concealedas is the fastening device and the vinyl material is cushioned andtextured to have a leather-like appearance thereby enhancing theappearance characteristics of the box while retaining the cost thereofat a desired minimum.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modiications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A knife box comprising a shallow container defined by a peripheralwall and an inner Wall, said inner wall including at least onelongitudinal recess therein for receiving a knife handle, magnetic meansin the inner wall for magnetically attracting the blade of a knife tosupport it in position within the shallow container, and a closure forthe container, said closure being hingedly attached to the peripheralwall, and means on an opposite edge of the closure for magneticattraction to said magnetic means for retaining the door in closedcondition, said magnetic means including a transversely extending barmagnet, a channel member recessed in the inner wall and secured fixedlythereto, said channel member being of material subject to magneticattraction, said bar magnet being disposed in said channel member andbeing secured in the channel member by the magnetic attraction therewithand at the same time holding the knife blade in position and the closurein closed position.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said inner wall includesa transverse recess communicating with the longitudinal recess tofacilitate grasping of the knife handle.

3. A knife box comprising a shallow container defined by a peripheralwall and an inner wall, said inner wall including at least onelongitudinal recess therein for receiving a knife handle, magnetic meansin the inner -wall for magnetically attracting the blade of a knife tosupport it in position within the shallow container, and a closure forthe container, said closure being hingedly attached to the peripheralwall, and means on an opposite edge of the closure for magneticattraction to said magnetic means for retaining the door in closedcondition, said closure including a rigid panel, a covering of exiblematerial enclosing the panel, said tiexible material including anextension along one side of the rigid panel, said extension disposedagainst and secured to the inner surface of the peripheral wall todefine a hinge axis for the closure.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said flexible material isvinyl, and a cushioning panel disposed betwleen the rigid panel and theouter layer of vinyl materia 5. A holder for a knife comprising asupporting surface having a recess therein receiving a handle of aknife, and magnetic means carried by said supporting surface forretaining a knife by magnetic attraction of the knife blade, saidmagnetic means including a bar magnet extending transversely of therecess at one end thereof with the supporting engagement between themagnetic means and the knife blade being spaced laterally of the innersurface of the recess thereby enabling the knife handle to lie generallyflat in the recess.

6. The structure as defined in claim 5 together with a movable coverselectively covering the knife and the supporting surface, and means onsaid cover operatively asso- 5 6 ciated with said Ibar magnet toreleasably retain the cover 2,609,921 9/ 1952 Naken. in knife coveringposition. 2,893,564 7/ 1959 AGearhart 211-13 7. The structure as denedin claim 6 wherein said 2,966,992 1/ 1961 Dunkelberger et a1 211-87cover includes a exible extension along an edge thereof, 3,237,327 3/1966 Griggs.

and means supporting the extension from the supporting 5 surface tosupport the cover therefrom, said extension in- CASMI'R A. NUNBERG,Primary Examiner cluding a hinge structure incorporated therein topivotally support said cover in relation to the supporting surface. U-S-C1-X-R References Cited 211-60; 312-245, 329 UNITED STATES PATENTS 102,505,510 4/ 1950 Vermillion 206-16

